Weight loss injections in Canada: what is authorized, what it costs and how to get one

Weight loss injections in Canada: the short list

Weight loss injections in Canada come down to three brands you can fill at a pharmacy today: Wegovy, Zepbound and Saxenda. Each is a prescription drug from the GLP-1 family, built to act like a hormone your gut releases after you eat^2,4. Zepbound also acts on a second gut hormone, GIP⁷.

Brand	Drug inside	How often	Authorized in Canada for	Sold in pharmacies now?
Wegovy	semaglutide	Once a week	Weight management; lowering heart-attack risk in adults with heart disease; MASH, a type of fatty liver disease	Yes
Zepbound	tirzepatide	Once a week	Weight management; obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity	Yes, since July 2025
Saxenda	liraglutide	Once a day	Weight management	Yes, since 2015
Sevmia	semaglutide (generic)	Once a week	Weight management	No. Approved, not marketed

Here is where each one stands. Wegovy has been authorized since November 2021, and its Canadian label now also covers heart-attack risk and a form of fatty liver disease^10,2.

Zepbound got its Canadian approval on May 13, 2025, and reached pharmacies on July 9, 2025^10,1. Saxenda is the oldest of the three, approved in February 2015¹⁰.

Sevmia is the one that trips people up. It is Apotex’s generic semaglutide with a weight-loss label, approved on June 29, 2026.

As of November 12, 2026, it is listed as approved but not marketed, so no pharmacy can fill it yet^1,10. There is no generic liraglutide in Canada either, though 10 generic versions are waiting for Health Canada review^1,11.

Who can get a weight loss injection prescribed

You qualify on paper if your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related health problem, such as high blood pressure or prediabetes. That is the bar in all three Canadian labels^2,3,4,7. The final call is your prescriber’s.

The labels differ in a few places that matter when you sit down with a doctor:

• Saxenda is labelled for adults who have already tried another way to lose weight and it did not work⁴. Be ready to describe what you tried.
• Wegovy is the only one of the three with a heart-risk label: lowering the risk of a non-fatal heart attack in adults with established heart disease and a BMI of 27 or more².
• Zepbound is the only one labelled for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity³.
• Teens. Wegovy and Saxenda have labels for ages 12 to under 18 who meet weight and BMI limits. Zepbound has no label for anyone under 18^2,4,3.

Your prescriber will also ask about your history. All three Canadian monographs warn about thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodent studies^2,3,4, so expect questions about thyroid cancer in you or your family. Bring a list of your medicines too.

What about Ozempic, Mounjaro and “generic Ozempic”?

Ozempic and Mounjaro are not weight loss injections in Canada, at least not on their labels. Both are authorized for type 2 diabetes^10,12. They hold the same drugs as Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide), so a doctor can prescribe them for weight, but that use is off-label.

The same goes for the generic semaglutide pens that reached Canadian shelves in May 2026. Dr. Reddy’s and Apotex both sell one, and both are labelled for type 2 diabetes, not weight^1,10. They are much cheaper.

Apo-Semaglutide costs about $92 to $123 a pen, cash⁵. The catch is that its pens go up to a 1 mg dose¹, while Wegovy’s weight-loss dose is 2.4 mg².

Wondering which of the two big brands works better? That is its own question, and we answer it in our page on how Mounjaro and Ozempic compare.

Which weight loss injection works best?

On average weight loss in their main trials, the order is Zepbound, then Wegovy, then Saxenda. These numbers come from separate placebo-controlled trials, so read them as a rough ranking, not a contest held on the same day:

• Zepbound (tirzepatide): 20.9% of body weight lost on the 15 mg dose over 72 weeks, against 3.1% on placebo, in SURMOUNT-1¹³.
• Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4 mg): 14.9% over 68 weeks, against 2.4% on placebo, in STEP 1¹⁴.
• Saxenda (liraglutide 3.0 mg): 8.0% over 56 weeks, against 2.6% on placebo, in the SCALE trial⁴. In kilograms that was 8.4 kg against 2.8 kg¹⁵.

Weight-loss peptides compared on trial results, time to effect, how you take them, Canadian price, Health Canada status and evidence grade

Peptide	Weight loss	Time to full effect	How you take it	Cost per month	Health Canada	Grade
TirzepatideZepbound, Mounjaro	−20.9%SURMOUNT-1 · 72 wk · n=2,539	~17 moFull dose after 20 weeks	EasyWeekly pen	$314–742Cash, before insurance	Approved (Zepbound)	A
Semaglutide injectionWegovy, Ozempic, Sevmia, Apo-Semaglutide	−14.9%STEP 1 · 68 wk · n=1,961	~16 moFull dose after 16 weeks	EasyWeekly pen	$380–507Cash, before insurance	Approved	A
LiraglutideSaxenda	−8.0%SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes · 56 wk · n=3,731	~13 moCheck progress at 12 weeks	Some rulesDaily pen	$395–524Cash, before insurance	Approved	A

Best result = average weight loss at the highest dose in each drug's own main trial, so rows from different trials are not a head-to-head test. Cash prices in CAD before insurance; US prices in US dollars are shown only for drugs not sold here.How we grade

Our view: for most adults who qualify, the real choice is between the two weekly pens, and the daily Saxenda pen makes sense mainly when the others are not an option for you. Trial averages are not promises, though.

Some people lose much more, some much less. If you want the full case for each drug, including how the newer GLP-1s in trials stack up, read our guide to choosing the best GLP-1 for weight loss.

What the first months feel like

All three start at a low dose and climb. Wegovy starts at 0.25 mg a week and steps up every 4 weeks until it reaches 2.4 mg after 16 weeks². Zepbound starts at 2.5 mg a week for 4 weeks, then rises in 2.5 mg steps³.

Your prescriber sets the pace. Do not change it on your own.

Stomach side effects are the common ones, mostly while the dose rises. On the Zepbound label, nausea showed up in 24.6% to 29.0% of people in the trials, against 8.5% on placebo³. In STEP 1, 4.5% of people on semaglutide stopped because of stomach problems, against 0.8% on placebo¹⁴.

How much weight loss injections cost in Canada

Paying cash, expect roughly $314 to $742 for about four weeks of treatment, depending on brand and dose⁵. Wegovy costs the same at every strength in our price data.

Zepbound costs more as the dose goes up. These are prices before any insurance, with the pharmacy’s dispensing fee included.

Weight loss injection cash prices in Canada

Brand (use in Canada)	Dose	What you get	Cash price	Basis
Wegovy (weight)	any strength	1 pen, 4 weekly doses	$380–507	Audited at Costco, Walmart, London Drugs, Rexall and Shoppers; estimated elsewhere
Zepbound (weight)	2.5 or 5 mg	1 pen, 4 weekly doses	$314–418	Estimated
Zepbound (weight)	7.5 or 10 mg	1 pen, 4 weekly doses	$439–581	Estimated
Zepbound (weight)	12.5 or 15 mg	1 pen, 4 weekly doses	$563–742	Estimated
Saxenda (weight)	up to 3 mg daily	5 pens, 30 daily doses	$395–524	Estimated
Sevmia (generic Wegovy) (weight)	1 mg only	Not sold yet	No price	Approved, not marketed

What do the labels mean? The prices come from one pricing dataset run across every province and pharmacy chain. “Audited” rows use drug prices from a retail phone audit dated August 2026.

“Estimated” rows are modelled from list prices⁵. Nobody has published an audited Canadian price for Zepbound or Saxenda yet, so treat those rows as a guide.

One cross-check for Zepbound: in its 2026 review, Canada’s Drug Agency listed Lilly’s submitted price as $300 a pen for the 2.5 and 5 mg doses, $420 for 7.5 and 10 mg, and $540 for 12.5 and 15 mg⁷. Those are list prices before the pharmacy adds its markup and fee, so they sit a little under the estimates. Our Zepbound Canada guide breaks its cost down by dose and covers Lilly’s savings card.

What a year costs

A year of weekly pens is 13 four-week supplies. That is our own arithmetic on the ranges above, not a quote:

Injection, steady dose	13 supplies, low end	13 supplies, high end
Wegovy	$4,940	$6,591
Zepbound 2.5 or 5 mg	$4,082	$5,434
Zepbound 12.5 or 15 mg	$7,319	$9,646

Saxenda’s 30-day pack works out to about $4,740 to $6,288 for 12 packs (360 days) on the same basis⁵.

Three things move your real price. The first is the chain, since the dispensing fee in this data runs from $4.49 at Costco to $13.99 at Shoppers among the store chains⁵.

The second is your dose, for Zepbound. The third is your drug plan, which we cover below.

Saxenda’s 12-week checkpoint

Saxenda’s label has a stopping rule. If you have not lost at least 5% of your body weight after 12 weeks on the full 3.0 mg daily dose, the label says to stop⁴. That protects your wallet: you will know within a few months whether it is worth paying for.

The cost of stopping

Here is the part most buying guides skip. These drugs work while you take them, and much of the weight tends to come back after you stop.

The clearest numbers come from the STEP 1 extension. People who had lost 17.3% of their weight on semaglutide stopped treatment, and within a year they had regained 11.6 percentage points, about two-thirds of what they lost¹⁶. A tirzepatide trial found the same pattern, and our GLP-1 guide covers what happens when you stop in more depth.

Plan your budget around a year or more of treatment. If the monthly cost only works for a few months, raise that with your prescriber before the first pen.

Does insurance or a provincial plan cover weight loss injections?

For most Canadians, public drug plans do not pay for weight loss injections, and private plans vary^6,17,18. Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) reviews new drugs and advises the provinces, but each public plan makes its own decision after price talks⁷.

Drug	What Canada’s Drug Agency said	Conditions
Wegovy	Reimburse with conditions (July 2025)	Only adults with a BMI of 27 or more and established heart disease; price must drop
Zepbound	Reimburse with conditions (August 2026)	Only adults with a BMI of 27 or more and prediabetes; price must drop
Saxenda	Do not reimburse (September 2021)	None

Wegovy shows how hard this is. In July 2025, CDA-AMC said public plans could cover it for adults with a BMI of 27 or more who have had a heart attack, a stroke or symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

It also said the price would need to fall by 67% to meet the agency’s usual value bar, and put the cost at about $5,066 per patient per year at list price⁶. Then, in late 2025, the price talks on behalf of public plans ended without a deal after Novo Nordisk declined to negotiate¹⁷.

Zepbound got its recommendation on August 28, 2026. CDA-AMC backed coverage for adults with a BMI of 27 or more and prediabetes who have tried dieting at least once without success, if the price comes down.

To stay covered after the first year, a person would need to show at least 5% weight loss⁷. Whether and when any province lists it still depends on price talks.

Saxenda got a “do not reimburse” in 2021. The reviewers said no conclusions could be drawn about long-term benefits, such as fewer weight-related health problems¹⁸.

Private and workplace plans

Coverage through work depends on your plan, not on the drug. Before you fill a prescription, call your insurer or check your plan’s app and ask:

• Is this exact drug (Wegovy, Zepbound or Saxenda) on my plan’s drug list?
• Does the plan cover drugs for weight management, or only for diabetes?
• Does my doctor need to fill in a prior authorization form first?
• Is there a yearly maximum, and what share do I pay at the counter?

Write the answers down. If the plan says no, ask whether there is an appeal process.

How to get a prescription for weight loss injections in Canada

You need a prescription from a licensed prescriber, and you fill it at a licensed pharmacy. Health Canada puts it plainly: “Only buy prescription drugs from a licensed pharmacy”¹⁹. There are three common ways in.

1. Your family doctor or nurse practitioner. This is the best route if you have one. They know your history and can follow your progress, side effects and blood work over time.
2. A walk-in clinic. If you searched “weight loss injections near me”, this is often the fastest local option. Some walk-in doctors will start a weight loss drug, and others prefer to send you back to a regular provider for follow-up. Call ahead and ask.
3. A licensed Canadian online clinic. These assess you by video or questionnaire, then send the prescription to a pharmacy. This can work well, as long as it is a real medical service and not a store.

Whichever route you take, bring the facts a prescriber will want: your height and weight, what you have tried before, health problems like high blood pressure, prediabetes or sleep apnea, your medicines, and any family history of thyroid cancer.

How to vet an online clinic

We do not name or rank clinics, and we have no deal with any of them. Use this checklist instead:

• The prescriber is a doctor or nurse practitioner licensed in your province, and you can see their name.
• You get a real assessment that asks about your health, not just a payment page.
• The drug ships from a licensed Canadian pharmacy, and the box shows an eight-digit DIN that you can look up in Health Canada’s Drug Product Database^20,19.
• Prices for the consult and the drug are shown up front, separately.
• Follow-up is included, so someone adjusts the dose and checks on side effects.

Be wary of any site that uses Health Canada’s logo as an endorsement. Health Canada says some sellers misuse its logos and fake endorsements, and that it never endorses a health product¹⁹.

B12, MIC and “lipo” shots for weight loss

Some clinics sell vitamin B12 shots, or “lipotropic” shots, as a cheaper kind of weight loss injection. The evidence does not show that either one makes you lose weight.

B12 shots. A B12 injection is a real drug with a DIN in Canada, but its label is for treating a lack of B12, such as pernicious anemia or poor absorption after stomach surgery. Weight loss is not on it²¹.

So, do B12 injections help with weight loss? Cleveland Clinic says the shots are not linked to weight loss, and that they do nothing if your B12 level is already normal²².

They are often given without a clear need, too. In an Ontario study of 146,850 adults aged 65 and older who got B12 shots, about a quarter had a normal level in the year before the first shot, and 38% had no B12 test on record that year²³.

MIC and lipo shots. MIC injections for weight loss usually mix methionine, inositol and choline, often with B12 added. We found no published trial showing that these shots cause weight loss in people.

Even as a pill, choline’s link to weight loss rests on limited and inconsistent evidence²⁴. Health Canada’s Drug Product Database lists no human injection that combines methionine, inositol and choline¹.

Our take: skip them. If you think you might be low in B12, a blood test can tell you.

What not to buy: research peptide vials and fake pens

Do not buy weight loss injections from “research peptide” shops, social media sellers or anyone who skips the prescription. These products are not authorized in Canada, and Health Canada has found contaminated ones^8,9.

The “research use only” label is the big trap. Health Canada says that kind of labelling “does not make these products legal”²⁰.

Vials sold as retatrutide are a common case. Retatrutide is still in trials and is not approved in Canada or the US^25,1, yet Health Canada has seized it from sellers more than once^26,8.

The risks are not just legal. Health Canada lists infection, a wrong or missing dose, hidden ingredients and contamination among the dangers of unauthorized injectables²⁰. A cheap vial is not cheap if it puts you in hospital.

We cover the law, the seizures and what to do if you already bought something in our guide to whether peptides are legal in Canada.

How we put this guide together

We checked every brand and its status against Health Canada’s Drug Product Database and Notice of Compliance database on November 12, 2026^1,10. Eligibility and dosing come from the Canadian product monographs, quoted, not advised. Weight-loss figures come from the journal papers.

Prices come from one pricing dataset, and each row says whether it was audited or estimated⁵. Coverage facts come from Canada’s Drug Agency’s published recommendations.

Nobody on our team took or gave these injections for this guide. A pharmacist has not checked it yet, so the page carries a “Pharmacist review pending” label until that happens. Our grading method explains how we rate the evidence.

Your next step toward a weight loss injection

If you qualify and can budget for at least a year, book a visit with your family doctor, a walk-in clinic or a licensed online clinic and ask about Zepbound, Wegovy or Saxenda by name. Check your drug plan before you fill the prescription. If you are still unsure which fits you, take our one-minute quiz first.